More guttural grind than before, cut with narcotic haze

Deftones are streaming their seventh album, the rightly anticipated Koi No Yokan, a week ahead of its release over at Rolling Stone. As implied by the teaser tastes previously received, “Tempest” and “Leathers,” the new one comes closer to advancing the nuanced alt-metal glory of 2000’s genuinely classic White Pony. It’s got more grind overall, but the textures and tones counterbalance the guttural with a distinctly narcotic headiness.

“It’s not a super fast or slow record. It’s very dynamic,” singer Chino Moreno told Billboard. “There’s a lot of aggression in some of the music, but there’s also this very soothing element where there’s a lot of soundscapes rather than attack, attack, attack the whole time… I really feel like we reached a peak on our dynamics on this record with those two qualities — the beauty of something and just straight, ruthless aggression.”

So while a brutal ripper like “Poltergeist” can sit comfortably next to the melodic and dreamy “Entombed,” most songs on the album fall somewhere between those two extremes, and tip the balance back and forth as they go on. It’s thick, heavy stuff, and though Koi No Yokan isn’t out until November 13, we recommend you listen to the entire thing right now.